had a great RM last night at friends- huge salad, grilled wild salmon, and grilled veggies. Carb was sorbet and blackberries- I had mostly berries. YUM!

Jandy, I read at least a dozen books before choosing CALP. Once I did, and set a start date, I talked to my DH. I told him all about it, and asked him if he wanted to read anything I'd read (including a fiel of medical journal articles). He said no. I then asked him if he'd support me no matter what- and told him that support meant no candy or ice cream or junk in the house, no comments about the meals I ate, only going to eat out at places I picked, and no asking me if I wanted what he was eating. He agrees- and it worked. He still has no interest in reading any books about my WOL but he supports me. Now that I'm 11 years in, we have all that crap in the house but I can handle it.

In terms of books, I really like CAHHP and CALP- they have another one called Healthy for Life but it's harder to find- I'd get whatever is cheapest on Amazon! Last time I looked they were like a penny with $3.99 shipping. I also find them in my local used book store- funny they are always $4!
They are different from CAD in that they stress balancing your RM more, and to me and Pat are simpler. I don't like the hype in CAD that you can eat whatever you want and lose weight-
the story of Rachel and the sweet rolls- just not true for me but YMMV.
When I was losing weight I had no simple carbs- no desserts that were sugar- and very very limited alcohol. For me even now, I prefer complex carbs and try to limit both sugar and alcohol. Look at Pat's menus- she does that even better than me!

Tonight DH wants that smoked sausage again. tomorrow is ground veal patties- it was almost a give away (been in the freezer 2 months)- with eggplant parm.

hi-
tomorrow is my 11th Planniversary! It has been an amazing 11 years. This is a post I put in the Maintenance threads- and I wanted to post it here too.

The first year was like a miracle- changing the way I ate transformed my health and my body. I weighed what I did in college when I ran daily- and I felt AMAZING. Lots of energy, no aches and pains (once I got used to bones and elbows and hips sticking out in places they had not stuck out before!)- amazing.

The last 10 years of maintaining has not been a walk in the park - it is a DECISION to stay on this WOL. It is SO TEMPTING to eat the SAD- so tempting to have all the carbs presented in restaurants, on the street, at friend's houses. But I continue to choose ME. I'm more important than a frozen yogurt, or my friend's feelings if I don't eat her scones at 3 pm (or anytime for that matter). Travel and being away from my home present different challenges- I can't have a hot dog on the street with a bun, or a falafel sandwich in pita, or a pretzel or donut or ice cream (the list could go on and on). So instead I have the hot dog without the bun on a piece of aluminum foil, the gyro meat on a plate, the nuts from the bag I carry, a club soda or a bottle of water, and an iced coffee or hot coffee- black. I am choosing ME- my health, my body.
Things have changed in 10 years. My weight crept up with too many carbs, changes in meds, and ( I swear) just aging. Carb creep is a real thing for me- I have to pull myself back sometimes and be honest that I'm eating too many carbs or having too many foods I can't eat on a regular basis. I think of maintaining as a process- still learning and still evolving.

I still am not as comfortable with my body as I'd like to be- as I've written here - I know I don't see myself as I really look. I LOVE this body and hope I treat it well- a different issue for me than my body image. Still working on this too.

I want to thank this site- I don't know how I could have done this without the support, information and SPACE this place gives me. I know none of you know me or have met me - but thank you.
Now- on to year 12!!!
E

Enomarb, congratulations on 11 years! True dedication. But when I think about it anyone who has lost weight and kept it off has to be dedicated no matter what plan they follow.
Your testimony is inspiring because it show me that this plan can be done for life. I am so glad you and Patricia are posting here. I certainly need the support.

I didn't ask my husband to forgo sweets and other junk foods but we are working on improving his diet (just for overall health not weight loss) and he is already starting to cut out things like chips and cookies. So, that might be a bigger help to me than he can imagine. When I tried another diet in the past he was very willing to eat at restaurants that would accommodate my needs. I think I will have the same consideration this time too. I think he probably just wants it to work for me so I can lose weight, be healthy, and be happy with my body. Isn't it great to have husbands who love us this much?

Hi all! I am having another great CAD day! But I must confess that I am so afraid it will stop working. I feel so good and normal. No constant nibbling. No bites of this or that. No power struggles about eating food that I know I shouldn't eat. When I do have a thought to eat something carby it is easy to just say no. These are things that are new to me. It has only been one week. I am just so afraid that I will wake up tomorrow and all the old cravings will be back.

At any rate my RM today will be baked spaghetti and a green salad (I tried to add lots of extra veggies in the spaghetti)

Hi all! I am having another great CAD day! But I must confess that I am so afraid it will stop working. I feel so good and normal. No constant nibbling. No bites of this or that. No power struggles about eating food that I know I shouldn't eat. When I do have a thought to eat something carby it is easy to just say no. These are things that are new to me. It has only been one week. I am just so afraid that I will wake up tomorrow and all the old cravings will be back.

At any rate my RM today will be baked spaghetti and a green salad (I tried to add lots of extra veggies in the spaghetti)

Jandy,

If you do wake up with cravings, that's where your food logs will help. You may find a new food (maybe first time taking while on cad) that you've eaten has triggered you - maybe you had something at a cm that you need to only have at your rm, or that you need to balance with more protein etc.

I had some struggles with tonight's RM. I ate too much. I did stay within my hour but I kept going. But I can tell that something is different because I did not crash after. I think it is because I avoided that second insulin release. I now understand the logic behind that 60 minute rule. No more baked spaghetti. It had plenty of ground beef and cheese. I don't know. Maybe it is like you said Pat. Maybe I didn't have enough protein earlier or enough protein with this meal????

Hi. I received my copy of CAHHP from Amazon and have been reading it. I am confused. I always read that saturated fats or fats in general don't have an effect on insulin. Why does this book say that saturated fats cause insulin to release? In CAD they don't really put such an emphasis on cutting out saturated fat. I wonder why the change?

hi-
Jandy, remember that this book was published before all of the new research showing how saturated fats affect us. I just ignore all the old info and use the book as a guide.
CAHHP was the Heller's response to lots of criticism of LC diets- and has a 3rd author who is a cardiologist (still in practice doing lots of LC stuff). They wanted to help people with heart issues- and now of course we know that LC is very heart healthy.

hi-
last night DH had a meeting with an old friend who is in town for a couple of days, so I was on my own for dinner.
My RM was a salad, spinach and smoked salmon omelet, and a pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese for carb. YUMMM.

Today I'm getting lots and lots of work done- already had 5 repair people to the house- and spending the afternoon with a friend. She will be over soon.

Tonight's RM will be at a fancy steak place. I am planning on a salad, sirloin steak, sautéed spinach, bread or wine and berries with whipped cream for dessert. I don't plan on having wine and bread and berries- 2 out of the 3 will be fine. DH is going to have EVERYTHING and a fancy dessert- probably molten chocolate cake. I will be very happy with my dinner and the company.
Have a great weekend-

hi-
Jandy, remember that this book was published before all of the new research showing how saturated fats affect us. I just ignore all the old info and use the book as a guide.
CAHHP was the Heller's response to lots of criticism of LC diets- and has a 3rd author who is a cardiologist (still in practice doing lots of LC stuff). They wanted to help people with heart issues- and now of course we know that LC is very heart healthy.

It really took me by surprise because so much of what I have read about low-carb says that saturated fats are great. But like you advise, I will ignore it and just follow the plan. I guess you only need to worry about fats if you are eating like 200g carbs at your RM....very possible but I wouldn't do it.

That steak dinner sounds delish! Enjoy!

Question: Do you think the Heller's CM vegetable list would be longer if they knew about or believed in the net carb theory?